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I think that must be an oversimplification. Fort Worth just to the north is growing at the same speed as Austin. My house has doubled in value in the last 11

I think that must be an oversimplification. Fort Worth just to the north is growing at the same speed as Austin. My house has doubled in value in the last 11 years. Yet, Fort Worth is extremely anti-homeless in its city ordinances and we don't have a visible homeless problem. As Fort Worth is a giant city in a warm climate I am sure there is a homeless problem, but we residents don't have to see it.

jeffbee 6y ago
Even so, housing costs in Ft. Worth are still much cheaper than in Austin, and the difference is widening. In the last 30 years housing in Austin has gone from 30% cheaper than Ft. Worth to 30% more expensive. It's easy to see why: Ft. Worth enjoys liberal-marketarian zoning policies and Austin suffers increasingly from left-NIMBY potectionism, meanwhile population pressure is actually higher in Austin due to job growth. That is why the Austin situation seems to me to be quite similar to the SF Bay Area. Not discounting that Ft. Worth local policies may do a better job of hiding homelessness, only I don't think it is the root cause.
- res0nat0r 6y ago
  It's because the city council a while back decriminalized homeless camping, so it's become much more obvious and prevalent in high traffic areas. I can see this for myself if I walk a handful of blocks from where I live and see the new tent city which wasn't there a year ago. They're likely going to reverse this rule since it's not really fixing problem. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/25/austin-texas-homeless-council-considers-hotel-housing/6699301002/ https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/25/austin-texas... https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/21/homelessness-austin-repeal-camping-ban-not-working-adler-says/4243652001/ https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/21/homelessness...
650REDHAIR 6y ago
What do the jails look like?
WarOnPrivacy 6y ago
How awesome is it that anyone who becomes homeless in Ft Worth gets forced out of the city?

jeffbee 6y ago

Even so, housing costs in Ft. Worth are still much cheaper than in Austin, and the difference is widening. In the last 30 years housing in Austin has gone from 30% cheaper than Ft. Worth to 30% more expensive. It's easy to see why: Ft. Worth enjoys liberal-marketarian zoning policies and Austin suffers increasingly from left-NIMBY potectionism, meanwhile population pressure is actually higher in Austin due to job growth. That is why the Austin situation seems to me to be quite similar to the SF Bay Area. Not discounting that Ft. Worth local policies may do a better job of hiding homelessness, only I don't think it is the root cause.

res0nat0r 6y ago
It's because the city council a while back decriminalized homeless camping, so it's become much more obvious and prevalent in high traffic areas. I can see this for myself if I walk a handful of blocks from where I live and see the new tent city which wasn't there a year ago. They're likely going to reverse this rule since it's not really fixing problem. https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/25/austin-texas-homeless-council-considers-hotel-housing/6699301002/ https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/25/austin-texas... https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/21/homelessness-austin-repeal-camping-ban-not-working-adler-says/4243652001/ https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/01/21/homelessness...

650REDHAIR 6y ago

What do the jails look like?

WarOnPrivacy 6y ago

How awesome is it that anyone who becomes homeless in Ft Worth gets forced out of the city?